Huntsman, who has tried to portray himself as a different kind of Republican, dropped the name of Nirvana frontman Cobain when commenting on the flap between his rivals Rick Perry and Mitt Romney on Social Security.

Huntsman mocked the plan Romney put forth in his book, No Apology. "I don't know if that was written by Kurt Cobain or not," said the former Utah governor, in what's been interpreted as an allusion to the Nirvana song All Apologies.

Kurt Cobain Lives in the GOP presidential debate! Kurt supported Jerry Brown for president in 1992.

After expressing his interest in apparently learning more about Huntsman, Novoselic tweeted that he'd campaign for the former Utah governor and "if elected he'll nominate me for Dept. Of Bass Tossers. I will go down in flames in Senate confirmation."

The Daily Caller reports that not everyone on Twitter appreciated the Cobain references as much as Novoselic apparently did.

Cobain, who struggled with heroin addiction, committed suicide in 1994.

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.